Major Corporations Pay About Half of the Official 35% Tax Rate

That common Republican talking point--that at 35 percent, the U.S. has one of the world's highest corporate tax rates--doesn't reflect the 18.5 percent effective tax rate that a new study from Citizens for Tax Justice found that they actually pay.

That common Republican talking point--that at 35 percent, the U.S. has one of the world's highest corporate tax rates--doesn't reflect the 18.5 percent effective tax rate that a new study from Citizens for Tax Justice found that they actually pay. The left-leaning group examined the income statements of 280 of the country's largest corporations and found that 30 companies--including General Electric, Verizon, DuPont, Boeing, and Wells Fargo--found ways to effectively be taxed at a negative rate between 2008 and 2010. According to the study, that large discrepancy between the official and effective tax rates is due to "loopholes and tax breaks" at allowed the 280 companies to pull in $222.7 billion in tax subsidies over three years. The financial-services industry "received the largest share (16.8 percent) of all federal tax subsidies over the last three years."

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.